The Road Back
by serafina19
Summary: He was just one of many people who had left after the funeral, but when Chloe sees Oliver again, she struggles to see the man she remembers.
1. Chapter 1

******Timeline**: Canon until Echo for the most part.

* * *

**The Road Back**

Oliver downed another shot as he stared at his reflection in the bar mirror. It had been a long couple of months, making himself disappear, making him seem worthless in the eyes of the people he was closest to. In a way, he wanted them to... because what kind of hero does what he did?

He brought an innocent guy into the crosshairs of danger and it cost Jimmy his life. Even as the days went by, the guilt wouldn't wash off his face or in the way he walked. He was a man destroyed, if there was any man left in there. These days consisted of alcohol and consequent hangovers and not much else, which had done a number on Oliver. But all that almost felt like nothing compared to the person he saw across the bar, a familiar face that he never expected to see here.

Oliver had gotten used to seeing dark circles under her eyes, usually from a lack of sleep, but Chloe's eyes looked much worse now, even when compared to her expression at the funeral. That day, Oliver had stood rows back, letting the guilt he felt in himself prevent him from asking how she was. Jimmy was her husband once and she had watched him die in her arms, yet Oliver never once asked her how she was holding up. That was because Oliver had no intention of seeing Chloe Sullivan again, but that was no longer possible.

Although he had to admit, Oliver figured that there would be someone here for her after the funeral. But considering he had lost touch with the team, with everyone, it appeared that he was wrong. So when she continued to swirl her drink with a lost expression, Oliver looked towards the bartender and asked what she was drinking. His response led Oliver to smirk, as it appeared that they had similar poisons. Ordering two glasses, he approached her table, afraid of the reaction he'd receive when she saw him again.

**~0~**

Chloe sighed as she stared at her glass, reminded of how her life weirdly reflected the emptiness of it. Her whole life was a mess and yet she pressed on, wondering what good it was anymore. Regardless of whether she drove back to the Talon to be with Lois or slept in Watchtower, her life felt quiet, lonely, distant.

In her own way, she had kept tabs on everyone, but Chloe was beginning to doubt that too. What was the point of keeping an eye on someone who wanted nothing to do with her anymore? No phone calls, emails, definitely no face-to-face time. But she couldn't give up, which is why she sent out an email to everyone today, or rather, _almost _everyone. One of the exceptions stood in front of her now, his expression contradicting the emphasis he placed the glass on the table, causing the table to shake under it.

It had been a long time since she had seen Oliver, aside from the profile look she stole a half hour ago. She thought about talking to him, but Emil had made it clear that he didn't want to be found, so she figured that she was respecting his wishes. Especially after the stunt he pulled last week and the fact that he was still in places like this and pushing liquor down his throat. So Chloe narrowed her eyes, wondering what was on Oliver's mind, leading to him sliding the glass closer to her.

"I'm not following you," she said softly, and for once, it was actually the truth. Chloe didn't believe much in coincidences, but this time... maybe this was the exception.

"What, no thank you?" Oliver asked dryly, slumping in the chair across her, causing Chloe to roll her eyes.

At this point, she didn't know what his angle was here, so she obliged him, grabbing the glass, tipping it up slightly. "Thanks," she said half-heartedly.

And that's when Oliver saw it, the coldness in her stare, the stiffness in her grip. This was far from the Chloe he had left behind. "How are you?"

She sighed as she took a small sip of the scotch, allowing the smooth liquid to burn down her throat. "Not much better than you."

"Clearly," Oliver replied, as he could have told her that much, but the blunt honesty almost felt unexpected. "Never pictured you as a drinker."

She tipped her glass towards her, causing the scotch to trail up the glass before she set it back on the table. "Well, I never I pictured as a guy who runs away when things get bad."

Oliver laughed dryly at that comment. "Point taken."

"Is it?"

There was a silence that lingered between them as they exchanged drinks from their respective glasses. At one point, they were friends, teammates, but now they were distant people sitting across from each other at a table, lost in events that transpired months ago.

Giving up, Oliver stood up and whispered, "I'm sorry," as he walked away.

Still staring at her glass, she said back, "For what?"

His back facing her, he felt his head drop. "For Jimmy, for my lack of communication, for..." Oliver let his voice trail as he realized that the list of his recent screw-ups was longer than he wanted to admit out loud.

Besides, even Oliver knew that wasn't going to be enough. Sure, the apology was nice, but words weren't going to fix any of this. Pulling her chair back, Chloe scoffed at him. "And walking away is supposed to make it better? It didn't before."

He swallowed hard as the latter sentence dug deep, although that was its intention. "I figured that was what you wanted." If nothing else, based on how she was acting around him right now, Oliver didn't feel welcome anymore.

Only Chloe wasn't talking about their present situation. "Yes, I _wanted_ everyone I cared about to leave." Pushing her chair even further back, she bolted out of it and slammed her hands on the table, knowing how she wanted nothing more than to say that she needed the team, even just one member after that day. Instead, it felt like all of her attempts at communicating were going into this black hole. "I lost every _shred _of myself after that funeral, yet somehow I'm the one who is trying to keep it going."

Looking up, Chloe realized that she had brought too much attention to herself, as most of the bar patrons were staring at her. One of those people was Oliver, but Chloe knew she had to wrap this up. "In the end, it doesn't matter what I want... it never did." Slipping her arms through her coat, Chloe felt grateful that she wouldn't have to walk around him to get out. Picking up her purse, she took note of Oliver's gaze at her, but a look wasn't going to change the fact that Oliver had no intention of coming back, so Chloe had no choice.

"Goodbye Oliver."

She immediately whirled around and took off, not wanting to look at him anymore. It was too hard to watch him throw his life away like this. The only reason tears didn't fall was because of the way the cold wind blew against her skin, which was enough for Chloe to snap out of her solemn mood. But as she continued down the block, Chloe heard the faint sound of footsteps behind her, so she reached inside her bag, ready to strike if whoever was following her came too close.

"That's not true."

Chloe paused in her action, wondering what Oliver was doing right now. But no matter how noble his words seemed, his actions proved otherwise. "The team's MIA, you're practically living out of the gutter, Lois is too busy trying to track down Clark, who is still doing the solo act. Watchtower's all I have, and with no team... even that feels pretty pointless."

Oliver just stared at her, noticing how her hand hadn't left her bag yet. He thought about catching her off-guard, but getting tazered wasn't on his bucket list. So he waited patiently for Chloe to finally turn around, when she added, "How do you live like this? There has to be some reason you find life's solutions in a glass of scotch."

"It dulls the pain."

"Oliver... you're still here."

"And so are you."

She scoffed, as she felt like some of her frustration was justified and she continued to work towards appeasing what she had done. "One word from you and the guys would come back online, but instead you're here."

"Maybe I'm not the leader you think I am."

Chloe shook her head, as she was in slight disbelief of the words she was about to say. "We were friends Oliver, that means that I know how much you mean to those guys. We all made our mistakes in this, but you're a fighter and you have to get past this."

He felt flattered by most of her words, but Oliver couldn't fully address them without asking about one particular word choice first. "We _were_ friends?"

After reaching back into her bag, Chloe held up his phone. It was embarrassing that she held onto it like this, but she was glad to have it now. "I figured this was your way of signing off to the world. Clark tells it to my face, but you...go radio silent."

Biting her tongue, Chloe felt conflicted as the sound of the wind covered the silence in the air. Tonight proved there was still a small amount of fight left in him, but Chloe couldn't back a true transformation on a spark, as they can fade just as easily as they catch fire. "You are that leader, Oliver, even now I know that hero still lives inside of you. If you decide to remember that, you know where to find me." It seemed doubtful, but despite her earlier actions, it was a lot harder to give up on Oliver than she thought.

As Chloe turned away, Oliver stopped her by grabbing her hand. She was about to ask what he was doing when she felt him lift her fingers away from the phone and take it from her. With a grin, he turned around and began to walk away.

**~0~**

It was just a phone. One he had trashed months ago, so why couldn't Oliver stop staring at it?

Better question was why Chloe didn't delete all of her voicemails or her attempted calls to this number? Was it a reminder of his incompetence? An easy reminder to keep moving forward?

Regardless, as Oliver scrolled through each call, he could see just how genuine Chloe's words were. With each syllable he heard on his voicemail, his guilt built up, along with his realization that he had been selfish this entire time, especially with the past few weeks. Everyone told him that he was better than this, so why couldn't he see it? Heck, even Clark tried to stop Oliver from spiraling out of control, so he figured that the two friends were still in contact, and the fact that was no longer the case only intensified Oliver's frustration.

Staring down at the glass he had filled upon returning home, he picked it up suddenly and threw it hard against the wall, watching as the pieces fell to the floor, and as the liquid trailed down the wall, Chloe's words came back to him.

_How do you live like this? There has to be some reason you find life's solutions in a glass of scotch._

Oliver's response had been true, as it did dull the pain, but he never had someone that he could just come clean about his problems. But now as he looked down at the phone again, Oliver realized that he had pushed away someone that could have helped him, as being with Chloe could have pushed him out of his self-pity a lot sooner.

Others had tried, but Clark wasn't the person to deliver the message and Tess only needed the superficial aspects of him. Chloe, on the other hand, wanted _him _back, and even after he gave her every reason to doubt him, she wanted to believe in him. Then again, convincing her that belief was justified would not be an easy task.

Regardless, Oliver found himself dialling her number, not surprised to listen to the four empty dial tones and the slightly defeated tone for her voicemail message.

The beep went and Oliver felt himself sigh as he sunk down on the couch. "Okay, I deserve this," he said honestly, knowing how much effort Chloe had put into this. "But on the off-chance that you do listen to this message, just know that I'm really sorry."

Opening his eyes, Oliver turned himself towards the room where he kept his gear, a place that he had been avoiding for months now. "Is it what you want to hear? Will it help? Probably not." After all, actions spoke louder than words and if Chloe had a clue about all the stuff Oliver had done, his credibility with her would be shot. "But it's all I have."

Standing up again, it wasn't long before Oliver pulled back the entrance of the room, noticing its state of disarray, just like the overall air of his life. As he leaned down to pick up his glasses that he had thrown aside before leaving the clocktower to burn his uniform, Oliver was reminded of how he thought he was done. And all this time, he thought that he meant it.

As he knelt there, flashbacks of the past few weeks began in Oliver's mind, causing him to grip the phone tighter, to take a deep breath to keep himself in check. "I'm... I'm so sorry," he repeated before ending the call.

* * *

_Sera's Scribbles: There's a very high probability that I'm posting this way too early... and that I'm overloading on early Season 9 AU stuff... but this was a graveyard piece that I've revived recently and so I don't abandon it again... I'm posting it. Here's hoping I made the right call._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Pain wasn't something unusual when Oliver woke up in the morning, in fact it was probably a given. The pinging headache, clothes abandoned on the floor, the guideless walk to the shower, hoping that after he cleaned his body, somehow things would be better. Countless days had passed, yet not too much had changed. From time to time, memories would flash, good and bad, but eventually, they all faded away, returning Oliver to the state he was most used to.

Only today, when he stepped out of the shower, he wondered what he was doing with his life, wondered how he was spending his time because everything felt like a blur. It never bothered him before, but now, for some reason, it did. Then again, that might have something to do with the voices in his head.

_"Well, I never I pictured you as a guy who runs away when things get bad."_

All night, whether it was her words on text messages or voicemails, or her spoken words, they were repeating in his head. Part of Oliver thought it was all just a dream, even a hallucination, but when he walked out of the bathroom, fluffing a towel in his hair, the phone she gave him last night was still where he left it on the nightstand.

_"I figured this was your way of signing off to the world. Clark tells it to my face, but you...go radio silent."_

Picking it up, he walked out of the room and saw the broken glass on the floor, the dried alcohol on the walls, and Oliver knew that last night was a reality. That seeing Chloe Sullivan again did indeed happen. Now that had been established, all Oliver wanted was to forget the encounter, to try and forget how much she had changed, but it was no use. It was like standing in a mirror, watching someone else punish themselves like he was... and Chloe deserved better than that.

And sure, she made sure to show Oliver that he had made a mistake, but she did it her way, showing Oliver that as much as she wanted to let go, to move on, her belief in someone, in him, was stronger.

That might have been why he followed her when she threatened to cut the cord. So many times, he wanted to seem worthless to these people, including Chloe, but seeing the look on her face as she said _Goodbye Oliver_ was too much. That look of disappointment, of hurt... Oliver deserved it, but to say that what she wanted didn't matter... well that wasn't true. The team always wanted her opinion on things, but this time everyone made the selfish choice, thinking that one person would stay behind. They were wrong and it was a decision that they would all pay for someday, if that day hadn't come already.

Walking back to the bathroom, Oliver picked up his razor, knowing that he hadn't shaved since the Ace of Clubs, but the stubble was getting irritating and it had to go. Sure enough, Oliver nicked his skin enough to see a small amount of blood form, but he washed it aside, not wanting to focus on the coincidences.

Looking back up in the mirror, Oliver stared hard, wondering how someone who had lost so much could still somehow see value in him... and have conviction behind the words as she spoke them.

_"We all made our mistakes in this, but you're a fighter and you have to get past this."_

She would, the team would, but Oliver was skeptical of that fact for himself, as some battles were meant to be lost. With a sigh, he left the bathroom, eyeing the clothes scattered on the floor once more. But instead, he paced towards his closet, finding a clean button-up shirt and a pair of slacks that hadn't been buried in his closet.

And as he turned towards his reflection in the mirror across the room, Oliver still knew he was a shell of the man he was, but that was the beauty of the clothes. Add a disingenuous smile and no one has a clue just how much pain lied beneath.

Only what Oliver didn't realize was that this was the first morning since the event at the Ace of Clubs, or rather, since he returned to Metropolis, that he had even bothered to grab clean clothes.

**~0~**

Pushing the door open, Oliver stepped outside into the literal fresh air, as the wind blew hard down the streets as the fall colours started to set in. It was crazy to think how much had changed around him, things that Oliver never even bothered to look at. Store fronts were re-established, the potholes in the roads seemed like they never existed and despite the harsh breeze... the sun was shining. Then again, it could have shined every day and Oliver wouldn't have noticed, as the weather seemed so far away from the emptiness of his mind.

In the middle of a city block, Oliver stopped at a bus stop bench to pull out the phone and listen to the voicemails once more. He swallowed hard each time he heard the sign of Chloe holding back her sadness, trying to keep her strength at the forefront. What she was doing was admirable, but she was better off letting him go. Hopefully after last night... she saw that.

Oliver was about to get up when he noticed a bus pull up, so instead of walking away from the stop, Oliver got on, almost surprised that he had the money for bus fare in his pocket. The way he had been spending it, Oliver wouldn't have been surprised if he pulled his pockets out and realized that there was nothing left.

He turned and noticed how everyone on the bus was looking at him. There was a hint of pity, considering the story that Lois and Clark wrote about the bomb incident, also a hint of surprise that a billionaire was riding the bus. But Oliver walked right past most of them, finding a seat near the middle of the bus and looked out the window, where reminders flew like the spare litter on the streets. The place he made his first save in Metropolis, the coffee shop and cart Chloe practically called home, even the place he almost threw his life away.

Oliver would have done it, and there was still a part of him that felt like he deserved it. Sure, it was nice hearing from Clark that he wasn't going to give up on him, but the fact that Chloe was that distant showed the kind of job he had done with her. Oliver didn't deserve better than her, so he hoped that meant that Clark would continue his job as the Blur, be the hero the city needed... because Oliver knew it wasn't him.

Yet when a familiar sight came into view, Oliver got off the bus and thanked the driver. Again, the slight breeze greeted him as the doors shut behind him and the bus took off. On paper, nothing had changed, but when he gazed up, Oliver felt as if everything had changed since he got out of bed this morning. Stepping forward, Oliver knew there was something he had to do.

**~0~**

As Chloe's fingers drummed against the keyboard, she almost missed the notification that someone was in the elevator. She had activated this system in case of any intruders, except this person was far from one. He just wasn't someone she had expected to see. In fact, based on last night, Chloe didn't think that anyone would change Oliver's mind, that he was just stubborn enough that the only words he would believe would be his own. But now, he was about to enter Watchtower, leading to Chloe to ask herself... _Why?_

Shaking her confusion away, Chloe noticed that he had exited the elevators, so she turned around and waited for him to open the double doors. Upon seeing him, Chloe felt herself pause, as there were things that the camera feed couldn't tell her. On the surface, the Oliver she was seeing now was different than last night. He had shaved, grabbed some decent clothes, even his posture was a little better. But one look in his eyes said it all, and Chloe felt her hope slowly fade away.

"How did you get up here?" she asked genuinely, because after all the hours spent on security, Chloe sincerely hoped that her system wasn't that breakable.

Still holding the phone in his hand, Oliver held it up so Chloe could see it. "You left my access code on my voicemail." When he had entered, he almost had to do a double take, as it was far from the place he had seen months ago. "I like what you've done with the place," he said, walking slowly towards the place where Jimmy's body had been. There was a small rug there now, not that he blamed Chloe for that.

Meanwhile, Chloe only watched as he stepped confidently through Watchtower, his footsteps echoing in her ears. When he stopped, it didn't take long for Chloe to realize where Oliver was standing. "If you want to cut me off, there's no need for a personal visit." Crossing her arms as Oliver turned back to look at her, she shrugged nonchalantly. "An email would have sufficed."

Oliver's head remained dipped slightly when he heard those words. "I guess you didn't get my message."

But it was quite the contrary, as that message had practically plagued her all night. When she saw his number on her phone, Chloe couldn't bring herself to answer. So she let it ring, let it go to voicemail. It was supposed to show him what she had felt all these months, but curiosity got the best of her and she listened to it an hour ago.

It was heart wrenching listening to his voice break, the heaviness when his feet met the floor that echoed in the line, not to mention the words that were spoken. Unfortunately, this wasn't about an apology. "_I'm sorry _doesn't change that you left your friends, your company. Heck, you've even lost every inch of your self-respect, but we both know that doesn't matter to you anymore."

Seeing Oliver open his mouth, Chloe held her hand out to stop him. "And it's not because I want to see you like this, because I wouldn't wish what you're doing to yourself on anyone. One act does not define you and when I think of one word to describe you... " She immediately paused, wondering if what she was about to say was going to be worth it. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to continue. "Murderer... isn't it. The problem is you do."

She didn't care that Oliver likely had no idea that she knew about his suicide attempt, as the surprise was written all over his face as his mouth slowly gaped open. There was something in his reaction that broke some of her walls, as she blinked profusely, causing Chloe to turn around to look anywhere but at him.

"I can start fire alarms, evacuate buildings, but what you did..." Biting her lip, Chloe felt her head lower as one tear sprung loose. "God Ollie, you have to stop punishing yourself someday." Because it was more than Jimmy, it was shooting Clark, killing Lex... it was safe to say that Oliver Queen had better years than this. However, his solution was never one Chloe could condone.

Oliver watched in silence, thinking about how Chloe would have known about that night, as there was no way she was watching him that closely. However, as Chloe approached the stained glass window and stared out in the distance, suddenly everything came clear.

"Clark." He remembered that Clark mentioned that she had followed the feed on the earpiece, so it was only a matter of time before she knew the word on the screen that flashed before his eyes for what felt like a lifetime.

She let out the smallest of nods as she maintained her gaze. "I almost didn't believe that he came to me about you." It wasn't a slight to Oliver, but Chloe needed her best friend and he had been practically MIA almost every other night. That, and last she checked, Clark was more than willing to leave Oliver behind prior Doomsday, so the change of heart felt a little sudden.

But in the end, it was mainly her bitterness coming through, because even after Clark came back from the shadows, he couldn't spend more than five minutes with Chloe lately. "He needed someone to run interference and well, that's when people call me."

"Chloe –"

"You're not sorry," Chloe interjected, throwing her arm out to her side in frustration. "So cut the crap... please."

"Okay then..." Oliver looked around, more than willing to change that conversation. "When was the last time you left this place?"

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The fact that you've accomplished this in a few months, by yourself no less, is impressive, but..." So impressive that it got Oliver to wondering what else she did. Sure, Chloe was skilled in her area, but fully furnishing this place, establishing the software base, not to mention the extent she likely built up the database... it had Oliver slightly worried. The whole reason he came up was because there was this nagging feeling inside of him to apologize to her face once more and see what she did with her days. But this wasn't what he had hoped to see. With no one around to help, it didn't surprise him that Chloe pushed herself into her work, but considering the last place he saw her, it was easy to see that, "You're punishing yourself as much as I am."

"Maybe," Chloe replied, but who else was supposed to? This was her mistake, one she could have easily avoided, but instead, she tried to find a way to tie everything up in a pretty bow, only to have the ribbon burn to ashes right in front of her eyes.

"But let's face it Oliver, my fragmented version of happily ever after had a pipe thrust through his body. _Died_ protecting me." Chloe shrugged as she returned to stand behind the console, grateful she was facing away from him as she bit down on the inside of her lip to keep the tears back. "But hey, at least I tried right?"

For awhile, there had been silence in the air, which gave her time to recover her composure, as the last thing she wanted was for Oliver to see her break... again. As seconds ticked away, Chloe hoped it had been enough for Oliver to realize it was time for him to do what he did best lately. Only he didn't, and what he did instead caught Chloe completely off-guard.

She never heard the footsteps coming closer, so Chloe had no clue how close he was to her until she felt his hand on her shoulder. Feeling her breathing take a hit as a consequence, Chloe peered to the side, seeing how he was standing so close that if he took one more step, her back and his chest would likely collide. And while Oliver had no problem with the proximity, it was likely the closest Chloe had stood next to someone in months.

When she finally risked glancing up at him, Oliver caught the slight surprise in her eyes, not to mention how he had felt her jump slightly under his touch. It wasn't his intention to scare her, but even though she was likely done with him, Oliver couldn't leave.

"Chloe," he said softly, "what happened that day, that's the image you need to get out of your head."

Again, her teeth tugged at the inside of her lip, as for the first time, she saw the Oliver she remembered. It almost flattered her that he even took her words from last night seriously. Then again, the fact he listened at all was encouraging. But it wasn't long before Chloe remembered everything else, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut and push his hand away. "That's rich coming from you."

She took a few big steps away from him, but turned around to face him, not afraid of the fact a few tears sprung loose. "But I'll bite...what should I replace it with? Clark walking out on me? Lois deciding the Blur was more important than I was? Or how about _you_ walking away in the cemetery or throwing your life away at the Ace of Clubs?"

Stopping at a comfortable distance, Chloe glanced at the floor past Oliver to where he had been standing before. "At least Jimmy's death reminds me that there's a world to save... and my part in it." It wasn't much to hold onto, but the alternative didn't look much better. "If you have no interest in wising up to your shenanigans, I'm not about to prove to you that you're better than this." She shrugged again before finding Oliver's eyes. "I've said my peace."

"And I'm here," he said softly, realizing that although all of the words she had said were repeating in his head, there was one particular sentence he had been avoiding. "If you recall from last night, you said –"

"I know what I said," Chloe interjected, but she never expected him to do anything about it. Even now, as he stood there right in front of her, she couldn't fully believe his intentions. "Except you're only out of pity, not because your heart's in it."

Oliver hadn't expected her to believe him, but the more he stood there, the more he realized that he wanted to fight for this. All of the binges, all of the decisions, it didn't help anyone or anything. All this time, he just thought he was punishing himself, but if he kept this up, the results could be even more catastrophic.

The team could lose all hope in reuniting, leading them back to bad habits, and the crime rate would continue to rise in the cities they had previously helped. Sure, Clark was back, which was promising, but he couldn't save the world by himself.

Then there was the company that his parents built, and even if it technically wasn't his, it was up to Oliver to keep it going, to allow for his own legacy.

And the more he thought about it, he didn't want to be remembered as the guy who caused the company to fall, affecting thousands of people's lives from the shareholders to the employees. He didn't want to be the person who continued to ignore his friend's troubles, not after everything they had done for him. In the end, Oliver didn't believe that he deserved happiness, but people relied on him, people needed him to be better, and if he could turn himself around... make other people happy... then maybe he could live with himself again.

So Oliver broke his silence. "You don't know that." After all, not even he knew his true intention of coming here until a few minutes ago. Based on the expression she gave him as she continued to work, she didn't believe it, but somehow, Chloe had singlehandedly brought the man she was searching for back to life.

Only Chloe didn't see one inch of that realization, as her back was turned to him. "No word for months, then you see me for five minutes and all of a sudden you're here. If this isn't pity, what is it?"

It didn't take Oliver long to find an answer for that. "Concern, remorse... maybe even a little hope for redemption."

"Well, do us both a favour and don't feel obligated to me or anything." It actually hurt Chloe to talk to him like this, but after everything that had happened, she felt like there was no other option. "We know this is going to pass and I'd rather not experience this disappointment again."

In fact, Chloe knew that she couldn't experience that loss again. She couldn't forgive him right away and tell him that everything was okay, because that was all that he was looking for. And that would help no one, because Oliver would just walk away again. There was a small voice in her head telling her to tell him now, while the pain was fresh, while the disappointment was strong, but she couldn't do it.

However, as she stood there, contemplating, Oliver stared at her curiously, wondering where the one-eighty on her personality had come from. Last night, she told him to come back, but now, her stubbornness had kicked into high gear. His expression hardening, Oliver realized that two could play at that game.

"You want me to leave," he said, watching Chloe's breath stop as the sentence finished, but she did nothing to refute it right away. She just remained where she was, continuing to type away, before she finally broke her silence.

"You can do whatever you want, it's your life."

That got Oliver to react almost instantly. "Look at me," Oliver said, reaching forward to grab her arm and turned her so that she faced him. That action had caused Chloe to be pinned between him and the console, as his arms blocked any exit she had, so there weren't many choices as to where she could look, which was fine with Oliver, as he wanted her to hear every word he was about to say.

"Trust me Chloe, I get that no apology is going to make up for what we did to you, but the idea that we let you down...it stung all of us." Sighing upon seeing her nod slightly, Oliver continued. "Now, you told me to come here, and I'm here. Whether you want to determine my intentions as genuine or pity... that's your choice. But I'm not leaving either."

When he grabbed her, Chloe felt her breath leave her and his words didn't help her. She wanted to believe him, but she couldn't want to get her hopes up yet. "I... I locked up your gear."

Oliver laughed a single time and then shrugged a shoulder, as even Chloe likely knew that wasn't going to stop him. "I have a spare bow in the clocktower."

Despite the small area of space between them, Chloe lifted her arms up carefully, trying not to touch Oliver in the process, and crossed them across her chest. "What's to say I'll let you back up here?"

"I could cut you off, find a way to shut down the database, but that would be counterproductive." He could see it in her eyes, behind the pain, the anger, was that same resolve that she had used against so many other people. Except this was for him, for Oliver to prove how it mattered to him, the team, what it stood for. "It will take time to regain your trust... I get that. But I'm here now and I am _not _walking away. Not anymore."

With that, Oliver lifted his arms from the console and walked backwards a few steps before heading towards the door. He knew there was a lot of work ahead for him, but for the first time in a while, he felt a smile break through.

And as the door slammed behind him, Chloe could only stare at the abandoned doorway, alone in Watchtower, wondering what had just happened.

* * *

_Sera's Scribbles: Apologies on the delay, but real life has been... 'fun' to say the least. I've also been working on the conclusion for this, which received a bit of an overhaul. It also reminded me that forgot to say that I'm pretending that there was more time between Echo and Roulette. You'll see why later._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Typing her access code, Chloe leaned back against the elevator, wondering if today would be another day of distractions. At this point, Chloe had settled into her sense of normal and while it wasn't ideal, it wasn't unliveable either. Although, when she went back to the Talon last night, needing a breath of fresh air after her encounter with Oliver, Lois was actually home and they did a long-needed girls night. Initially, it felt strange, but eventually, for the first night in awhile... it actually felt like her life was coming back to her.

However, this morning, it was back to work for Chloe, or at least... that was the plan before she walked out the elevator, as she could instantly sense that someone was inside Watchtower. Immediately rolling her eyes, Chloe felt herself hesitate as she stood in front of the double doors, hearing the signature sound of the arrow flying through the air, hitting the target.

_"But I'm here now and I am not walking away. Not anymore."_

Well, it was good to know that his word at least stood for something now, but Chloe didn't fully understand his angle yet and until she did, she couldn't let him in just yet. Nor was she ready to face him again, which is why her hand rested against the doorknob.

"If it makes your decision easier," his voice called out from the other side of the doors, almost causing her to jump in her place. "I know you're standing there."

Shaking her head slightly, it appeared that Oliver made her choice for her. "Found your spare bow I see," Chloe remarked as she entered the room fully, settling her stuff down at the main console as usual.

"That I did." When she had seen him here, Oliver had hoped that it would be enough to see a hint of optimism in her eyes, but there was nothing there. "And a new espresso machine if you're interested."

"If that's your definition of a peace offering –"

"It's not even close to making up for what I did?" Oliver replied as he pulled back the string, lining up his next target. "I know," he added as he felt his fingers release the string, satisfied at the line the arrow was taking and the destination. "That's why it's not a peace offering."

Chloe looked over to where the machine was, but even if she was tempted by it, the coffee in her hand would suffice for now, so she began to work.

For the next hour, there wasn't much in the way of conversation, but that didn't stop the odd glance across the room as the two blondes tried to read each other with little success. Finally, Oliver put his bow down and packed it into his gym bag. "So this is how this is going to be huh?" he asked, hoping that she'd negate it, but she wouldn't, at least not directly.

"You tell me."

So Oliver retrieved his arrows and flung his bag over his shoulder, ready to head back to the clocktower to shower prior to returning to Queen Industries. He knew that everyone would look at him differently, but Oliver couldn't avoid this any longer and he wanted the next impression he made to be a good one.

**~0~**

For a few weeks, the routine was same. Either Chloe awoke in Watchtower with a coffee cup next to her or Oliver was already there when she arrived, shooting arrows at the bullseye... and his aim was getting better. Once he was done, Chloe watched him pack up his things and he'd leave, likely to Queen Industries. If she could believe the papers, he was staying there until the early hours in the mornings, so there were moments when Chloe wondered if he slept even less than she did.

She even considered asking him that much, but few words were spoken between the two of them, as there wasn't a whole lot to be said that hadn't been spoken already. But Chloe prepared herself for today to be different as she heard the elevator activate. He wasn't here very often in the evenings, but sure enough, there Oliver was in a hoodie and black leather pants, different from the usual attire she had come accustomed to when he came in the morning.

However, some of the routine appeared to be intact, as he walked right past Chloe and set himself up for a few rounds of target practice. At the end of each round, she couldn't resist looking back, as she knew the targets he was trying to hit by now. And every time, each target was hit right on the mark, so Chloe knew that it was only a matter of time before he asked again.

But she wasn't ready to tell him what he wanted yet, as no amount of target practice or work at Queen Industries was going to prove what he truly wanted. That didn't stop her from continuing to count down the arrows in this round of shots, memorizing the order he shot them. During the last round, her head was turned slightly and she watched the velocity that the arrow hit the mark, her heart beating a little harder after each one.

And he was about to approach the target, but before he did, he leaned down to pick up his quiver. In doing so, he turned his head towards Chloe and she knew that she had been caught, so she didn't even try to hide her expression. In fact, it was amazing how much could be communicated through a stare. The drama between them, the struggles they faced apart, and the overall space, both literal and figurative, between their goals. Both tried to speak, only the words never came and Oliver knew it was time to go. Gathering up his arrows, he began to pack up his stuff and it was only when Chloe saw him pull out the sunglasses that she realized what he was doing.

As he left the room, the hood came up over his head, so Chloe immediately left the console, rushing towards the elevators to catch him before he left.

Standing just outside the doors, Chloe took a deep breath before saying, "Oliver, what are you doing?" He immediately turned his head over his shoulders, but there was no sign of budging in his mentality, so she took a few more steps. "A hoodie and sunglasses are hardly enough."

"It'll have to do until you tell me where you locked up my spare leathers."

Chloe countered, "Or you could just go back to your tailor and get a new set." That would take time, as despite the accuracy of his shot, she wasn't confident that Oliver was ready for this. After all, there was more to what Oliver did as Green Arrow than just shooting arrows and Chloe didn't want him to do anything stupid because he was trying to prove a point.

But Oliver wasn't going to see this situation her way, so with a grin, Oliver stepped into the elevator. "Come on, Chloe, you know why I'm not doing that." She knew better than anyone that it wasn't the uniform that made the hero and as the door shut, Oliver knew it was time to see what he could still do.

**~0~**

It didn't take long for Chloe to realize that patrolling didn't go as planned tonight. The first few nights, everything had gone well, but when Oliver came up on the elevator camera, she could see him holding his shoulder.

_Serves him right_, she thought, but immediately, Chloe felt a slight pang in her chest. What was wrong with her that she would jump to that thought? After a sigh, she walked over to the first aid kit, pulling out the basic supplies in time to see Oliver enter. "What did you do?"

It was funny, as Oliver expected a lecture, even that sentence, but there was something in her voice he hadn't heard in awhile, something he didn't mind hearing. Pulling his hood back, Oliver took his sunglasses off, placing them on the table. "Guy got a lucky shot." Shrugging off his hoodie, Oliver could see that the mugger he had faced wasn't the only one who was lucky. If his reflexes were any less sharp, he'd be looking at a much worse stab wound and at least a month of recovery time. "No worries, I can handle it, I did before."

"Right," Chloe replied as she gestured for him to sit down, which Oliver obliged after a casual shrug, as he was glad to see that despite that sense of distance between them, her spark hadn't faded. Meeting her eyes, he took note of the way she was looking at him and it didn't take Oliver long to realize that he was still wearing his shirt.

Normally, he wouldn't hesitate on making a quip her wanting him to undress, but this was hardly the time. She seemed to appreciate it, as her tough expression broke slightly when she heard him hiss as he took off his shirt. Dampening the gauze in her hand, she started cleaning the wound, something she had done dozens of times, including injuries much worse than this, yet... it never felt like this.

When she heard his reaction to the hydrogen peroxide against his skin, Chloe almost felt herself pause, as the simple action symbolized everything between them. Because it was obvious that she wasn't making it easy on Oliver, but she didn't want to push him away completely either, so when Oliver offered the out for her, Chloe didn't take it, even though the wound wasn't really that bad.

When she put down the gauze, Oliver's eyes followed her movements as she carefully prepared her thread and began working on the stitches. The way her fingers rested around the wound, the careful nature she worked standing so close to him, the silence that lingered in the air; it almost allowed all the crap between them to disappear.

It also allowed Oliver to take in the details of her appearance once more, something that hadn't changed too much since that first night. The dark circles were still prominent, despite the make-up intended to hide them. It wasn't hard to notice the wrinkles of the shirt she had worn yesterday, leading him to wonder just how often Chloe even bothered leaving Watchtower. True, what she was doing right now was likely a distraction for her, but to Oliver, it was nice to see Chloe relax, even if it was just for this moment.

"I missed this," he whispered, not wanting to break the silence, but Oliver knew it was something he had to say, and to his surprise, he heard Chloe laugh as she finished the stitches.

"What? Getting your ass kicked?" She peered up at him, seeing the smile on his face, not knowing how relived he was to hear her genuine laugh. However, her mouth did gape open as she realized what he meant and it took even less time for her cheeks to redden and to pick up the bandage for his shoulder.

Oliver had seen her realization and although he expected her to say nothing, he wasn't going to let her get away from it so easily. "Is it so unheard of to hear that you inspire someone to be better?"

_Yes._

That was what she wanted to say, but this wasn't a road she wanted to go down right now. "I don't think you'll need a sling, but don't overdo it, okay?"

"Okay," Oliver replied with a nod. He should have known that Chloe would change the conversation.

"And check with Emil first thing in the morning," Chloe said as she took a step back. Out of everyone, Emil was the one person both had been in contact with, so she was pretty sure that Oliver would do so. "My skills are a little rusty and I don't want to misdiagnose this." After all, it had been a long time she had to do anything along the lines of first aid.

"I will." Oliver got up and walked past Chloe, but within a few steps, he paused. "I'll see you tomorrow."

**~0~**

At the time, Chloe thought he was kidding when he said he'd be in the next day, but he didn't disappoint... again. Only instead of rough clothes and a gym bag, he was dressed like he was going into work, which felt odd because it was Saturday.

Chloe had already received a phone call from Emil this morning saying Oliver had stopped by and that he was lucky the wound wasn't worse. It seemed to be a word that surrounded Oliver lately, but she knew there was only so much luck a person could have and she figured there wasn't much left. From here, he had to fight, to work hard to get back what he had... and he certainly was making some great strides over the past few weeks.

It was no secret to Chloe that Oliver was likely working at Queen Industries every minute that he wasn't in Watchtower. In fact, laziness was hardly a word Chloe would use to describe Oliver Queen, no matter what was written about him. But Oliver had fallen so far off the wagon that getting back to 'going through the motions' wouldn't happen so fast. So all Chloe could hope for was that Oliver would continue on this path, because as every day passed, the more she believed in the words he spoke that first night in the new Watchtower.

It's why she decided it was time to stop ignoring him when the door opened. However, she even surprised herself when she blurted, "Morning."

Oliver almost stopped in his tracks as he heard her voice echo in the room. Trying not to give his surprise away too much, he held back his grin, settling on a neutral sounding, "Morning." For awhile, he had given her distance on weekends, but there was something calming about being in Watchtower, and with his shoulder recovering, Oliver was left with few options for what he could accomplish here.

So he headed to the desk and pulled out the piles of file folders that he still hadn't gone through yet. Such were the consequences of avoiding work and Tess made sure that he didn't miss a beat. And to be honest, Oliver was intent on proving to her that he could handle the weight. Yet before he clicked his pen, Oliver noticed that Chloe was standing in front of the desk.

"Queen Industries business?"

Figuring that she was just passing by, Oliver opened the first folder and began to scan the first page. "The time I wasted isn't coming back, so taking it easy isn't an option." However, he didn't get far because he sensed that she hadn't moved, so he finally looked up.

Chloe's mouth gaped open when he stopped working, as suddenly she felt a little embarrassed for watching him like this. So she said honestly, "I'm... surprised that you're doing this here." His head had tilted slightly, so Chloe tried to clarify what she meant. "I mean, you could just as easily do this at Queen Industries or the clocktower."

Oliver simply shrugged, as the truth was that there were, "Too many bad memories." His credibility at his own company was shaky at best, while the clocktower only brought flashbacks of his bad habits, the ones that he thought were supposed to define him. For it hadn't been long since that had been his life, but now that he had stepped away from that, Oliver wondered how he had ever let himself get that far down that road.

"And it's better here?" Chloe asked, curious about his answer.

He noted her skepticism, even understood it, as Jimmy's death and rounds of silence weren't ideal memories to represent a place. But lately, things had begun to change, and if nothing else proved that, Oliver thought that last night did. For that reason, he could admit, "I like to think it's starting to get that way."

Turning her head to hide the impending blush, Chloe walked around the desk. "Do you... need any help?"

"No, but thanks." It wasn't as if he didn't appreciate the offer, but this was something he had to do on his own. At this point, Chloe had done enough and Oliver wanted to ensure that he could pick himself back up and not always rely on her. Besides, he figured that, "I'm sure you have something that you would prefer to do."

Chloe nodded before taking a step back, understanding the decision he had made. However, that didn't stop her from offering the smallest of olive branches. "Well... I'm here."

**~0~**

They had done their thing all morning, and as usual, they shared the odd glance from across the room. Yet instead of regret and remorse in their eyes, there was a sense of content. So when the noon hour came, Oliver even offered to get Chloe something for lunch, but she shook her head. These days she didn't eat much, surviving on the odd muffin or granola bar, but especially that new espresso machine, as it saved her from going out as often as she did for coffee. However, Chloe started to think her imagination was getting to her because she suddenly smelt coffee, and she knew her cup had been empty for at least a half hour. Soon enough, a cup was placed next to her.

"I had passed by your coffee cart en route, so I'm hoping you haven't changed your coffee order."

Chloe shook her head, as she hadn't even heard Oliver get back. She was about to thank him, but she soon took notice that he wasn't looking anywhere near her.

Instead, Oliver took notice of Watchtower, the database. It was just an arrangement of screens, but each one had something different and there was likely many windows behind the ones that were showing now. "I can't believe that you did all this."

It was strange, as Chloe didn't see what the big deal was. She had been doing this for a long time and besides, what else was she supposed to do while everyone went away? This was where she belonged, Chloe had said it herself, as being with the team brought her more purpose than anything else.

Unfortunately, it was a little hard to be a part of a team without the actual team. But she pushed forward nonetheless, not knowing any other option. "It's... what I could do."

"But it isn't all you _can _do."

"It's all people see," Chloe said with a shrug, but when she heard Oliver open his mouth, she held up a finger to stop him. "And don't say that you're different. This... doesn't change what you did," she said, albeit reluctantly as she swallowed hard.

"And all that you're doing won't bring Jimmy back, it won't fix what happened with Davis."

"You don't think I know that?" Chloe asked with less malice than she had expected, although the glare in her eyes likely made up for that. "Look around Oliver. For awhile... this is all I had."

Oliver wanted to reach out, to tell her that things would change, but deep down, he knew it wouldn't make things better and he didn't want to jeopardize the progress made during the past few days. So he decided to let it go. "Well, enjoy the coffee."

Hearing his footsteps retreating, Chloe sighed, knowing that wasn't the way she wanted to end that conversation, so she said, "By the way... my coffee order hasn't changed. So thanks."

It was a throwaway comment, he knew that, even she knew that, but the smile she gave him before returning back to her work accomplished what it needed to. In fact, that comment was all Oliver needed to know that things had a chance of going back to a new sense of normal.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

As she finished the last of the muffin in her hand, Chloe glanced over towards the box holding today's newspaper, noting the date. Oliver's birthday.

Just a month ago, Chloe figured that it was going to be a sign that Oliver was never going to change, as the tabloids would continue to show him throwing his life away, but things _had _really changed. Even with his shoulder, Oliver came every day to Watchtower, working hard on Queen Industries business. For the past week, he had been testing his shoulder with the odd target practice, and even though Chloe was tempted to stop him, she let him be, knowing that he had to fight through the mild pain.

But this was one day she knew not to expect him, as Chloe knew there were board meetings upon board meetings and well, with a guy like Oliver Queen, there were always traditions and plans to a birthday celebration and Chloe was pretty sure that working more wasn't part of that.

As she approached Watchtower, she heard her phone, but Chloe let it ring. This was the fourth time her cousin had called her today, but Chloe didn't want to hear about Lois' issues with Clark. If she had to be honest, she was having her own problems with him and one day, her friend would just have to man up when it came to his love life.

Chloe hated that it had come to this, but Clark gave her no choice. For years, she had done everything he had asked, well, almost everything, and the one time she needed him... nothing. Even now when she saw him, Chloe could tell that he still didn't know how to apologize, so he didn't... and that hurt.

Shaking her head to snap her from her trance, Chloe noticed her phone hadn't stopped ringing, so she decided it was best to suck it up and answer. "Hey Lois,"

There was a slight sigh on the line, not that Chloe was surprised by it before she heard her cousin respond, _"Are you coming home tonight?"_

Looking down at her watch, she knew that she had a long night ahead of her, not that she could possibly explain the specifics to Lois, but her reason remained the same. "Not likely, work is still piling up."

_"It seems to be a constant in your life."_

"Pot, meet kettle," Chloe replied as she entered the elevator and entered her access code.

_"Touche, but you're the one who's going out of the way to be distant these days."_ Tilting her head, Chloe silently acknowledged the point, knowing Lois couldn't see it, but she didn't know how to negate her cousin's concern. So instead Lois pressed on. _"Look, I'm sorry for not being there for you cuz, but I'm trying now and you're not letting me."_

The elevator chimed as her sentence completed, leading Chloe to stand in the elevator in silence, thinking over everything that happened over these past couple of weeks. It was through that silence that Chloe realized something.

Lois was right.

Before it was her cousin that didn't have time for her, but lately, she had been asking for more girls nights in, making a genuine effort and Chloe couldn't even let in her cousin. Even if it was problems with Clark, Chloe would have taken any distraction before and now she was complaining that Lois wanted to spend time with her.

What was wrong with her?

Lois must have gotten sick of the silence on the line, so she added, _"What do you think about hanging out tonight?"_

Chloe was tempted, but she was still in Metropolis and she wasn't about to ask Clark for a favour. Even if she did, tonight wasn't the night to make things right, as she knew Lois already had plans. "I know about your tradition with Oliver, Lois, so maybe another night." They could bond any night, but Oliver probably needed this right now, and Chloe didn't want to mess with it by being selfish. She only hoped that Lois would understand.

Only Lois gave her a response Chloe hadn't expected. _"He cancelled on me, something about 'making amends,' which makes sense, considering the past year. So are you in?"_

"I – " Chloe stopped as she opened the door, seeing Oliver standing at the main console, facing her, likely waiting for her to come back from her errand. "Lois, I have to call you back." She heard her cousin shout in protest, but Chloe hung up her phone, her eyes never leaving the man in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

Pushing himself from the console, Oliver flashed his signature grin and got straight to the point. "I was wondering if you had a spare comm... I think I lost mine."

Before she had a chance to think about it, Chloe weakly shrugged and asked, "Why?" This wasn't the day she had expected to have this conversation, but she wasn't about to be caught off-guard. The determination in his eyes quickly shifted to frustration, as it wasn't what he wanted to hear, she knew that, but honestly, it was something she needed to hear.

Only Oliver couldn't believe his ears, as after everything, all the progress between them, she still wasn't willing to believe _him_ yet. But he supposed now was as good of a time as any to tell her something she had called weeks ago.

"You know... you were right when you said it was pity." He had just been too blind to see it. However, somewhere along the line, Oliver felt himself fall back into his old habits, albeit his _good_ old habits. "But if it was pity that caused me to live this moment, then I won't apologize for it either."

Shaking his head, he paced around the room, eventually turning to lean against the backs of one of the couches, staring ahead. Winslow was wrong, as he had never choked on a silver spoon, but he had choked on his own blood trying to do the right thing. He had suffered much worse than the shoulder injury he had just overcome, yet that never stopped him because something mattered more than the scars, cuts and bruises. If not for Chloe, that purpose may have been lost for good.

"The smartest woman I know, one who knows everything about me, one that's lost more in these past few months than anyone... you could look at me and still see a hero." Turning to meet her eyes, he added, "And after you fought for me for so long – it was about time I started fighting my own battles."

She swallowed hard as every word dug deep, but he gave her too much credit. "You've got that much right," she said nonetheless.

"I'm ready for this Chloe, you know I am. So what's it going to be? Are you going to let me prove you right?"

"I want to," Chloe replied, crossing her arms across her chest. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough, but the pit she felt in her stomach was growing by the second, her own guilt setting in and she began to wonder just how much Oliver would take before he would snap.

However, when Oliver dipped his head, he recognized hope there, so he still believed that one day things would be different. "If you change your mind, then... call me. I will pick up this time... or at least return your message." Turning his back, the double doors came into his view, yet his feet didn't want to move. Now more than ever, Oliver knew that he was supposed to be here and he hoped that Chloe would see that.

So, as a hail mary, Oliver said softly, "I made that phone call you suggested." There was so much of him that wanted to see her reaction, but for now, he would settle with the hope that it brought a little optimism. "They can't all make it tonight, but the jet lands tomorrow. Make sure to say hi to the guys for me."

She heard the first few footsteps, the sounds enough to break down the last of the walls she had built on this particular conversation. "Oliver... it's not a trick question." He kept skirting around the point and it was almost driving Chloe insane. If she had to spell it out, then so be it. "Why are you back here? Why do you want to prove _me_ right?"

Oliver whirled around, throwing his arm out in front of him. "When I began as Green Arrow, I wanted something that was mine, something that didn't give me any credit, but gave me more satisfaction as a person than anything I've ever done." Grinning, Oliver moved his eyes to hers, noticing that she had come a few steps closer. "Green Arrow is part of what makes me... me. I had lost sight of that, so _thank you_ doesn't even begin to cover my gratitude for what you've done."

He noticed Chloe open her mouth, but he stopped her. Knowing her, she would negate it and he didn't want that right now. "But I'm tired of radio silence between us, or whatever... this is. What we do here is bigger than all of us, which is why we need all hands on deck. And while before I was fine being the bank for this, I miss the field."

After a few steps towards her, Oliver recognized her reaction to his proximity, but it was more subtle than before. "I called the team and we're going to find a way to make things work... and we'd really like you to be a part of everything." Taking a breath, Oliver let a second pass before adding, "We hurt you, I get that, but... with any luck you will forgive us someday."

Oliver smirked as he turned, but he only got about two steps away before he felt his arm being grabbed. Looking over his shoulder, he relaxed his arm as Chloe's grip loosened on it, her fingers moved down to take his hand.

"For the record," Chloe said with a small smile, "I forgave you a long time ago." As she opened up his hand, she placed the key into his palm before taking a step back. With a nod, Chloe felt satisfied with her decision, leading her to glance up at Oliver's puzzled expression. "Leathers are upstairs, come by tomorrow at 10 sharp and then maybe we'll talk about that comm."

Oliver's mouth gaped open, wondering if he had been imagining all this, especially considering how light her voice was. However, he wasn't about to ruin this opportunity, so he asked, "Why not tonight?"

Looking back over to her phone, Chloe wanted to say that she appreciated the eagerness, but there was some place that Oliver had to be and it wasn't in Watchtower. "Ollie... it's your birthday, so go have fun with Lois. I... you don't owe me anything."

"Making amends about walking away, only to walk away right afterwards... doesn't feel right," Oliver immediately replied, as he didn't see things that way.

Chloe shrugged. "Except you don't owe me anything." Closing her eyes as she realized something, she laughed genuinely, which felt almost strange to hear. "Although if I had known that running into you at the bar would have brought you here… I would have gone a lot sooner."

"So that really was a coincidence." When Chloe nodded, Oliver opened his hand and held up the key. "If you don't mind…"

"Go ahead."

As he headed towards the stairs, Oliver tried to wrap his head around everything. He was happy that Chloe had let him in this much, but there was something about it that felt too easy, so as he stood in front of the lockers, Oliver sill wondered if the key would fit. When it opened the second locker he tried, Oliver stared ahead at his leathers, an unfamiliar sight for him. And suddenly it hit him.

"You said goodbye, you told me to leave," he called out, closing the locker and approaching the railing. "But you forgave me a long time ago."

"That's right," Chloe replied, not even fazed by the question as she started to work at the console.

"I had it all wrong... didn't I?" All this time, he was trying to prove something to Chloe, but she only wanted Oliver to look in the mirror and see himself differently. "Deep down, you never gave up on me."

Taking a moment to choose her words carefully, Chloe smirked as his words registered. "What good would that do when you already gave up on yourself?" she asked. Backing away from the console, Chloe noticed his usual target, full of arrows. Part of her wondered why he never showed her that before, but maybe because he knew it wasn't going to make a difference… and he would have been right.

For while they say that actions speak louder than words, there are times when only the words could cement his conviction. Today, he wanted to change, he wanted to be better, and oddly enough, it was that selfishness that Chloe wanted to hear.

"I actually understood the guilt and the downward spiral, but the extent you held onto everything..." After a sigh, she found a way to complete her thought. "I had to know that this is what you wanted or else you were walking out that door again and this time, I knew you wouldn't come back."

Swallowing hard, Oliver knew that he couldn't completely negate what Chloe was saying. That distance between them needed time, as neither of them truly realized how far apart they had come, even before Doomsday. However, it took a long time for Chloe to give him anything more than an inch. "You didn't make it easy on me."

"Nor was it easy for me, but I didn't have a choice." After a shrug, Chloe combed her fingers through her hair as she re-lived their previous conversations in her head. "I told you that I held onto Jimmy's memory because I found something positive to hold onto, but you did the opposite and there was no reason to. We failed as a team, Ollie, which means that no one needs to carry the full burden on their shoulders, especially you." Stopping her explanation to take a breath, Chloe took note of Oliver approaching the steps, leading her to add, "And we needed our leader."

"But I..."

"You felt guilt for crossing the line, which probably lines you up as the hero that you _are_." Chloe chuckled dryly as she remembered Clark mentioning that Oliver admitted that he wasn't running from himself anymore. In a crazy sense... he was right. "You took responsibility for your actions, which is kind of what a leader needs to do."

Did he take it too far? Absolutely. "But the thing that sucks about the humanity you possess is that when normal punishments didn't work, you found another way." However, that was all over now, and what mattered were the moments moving forward. "That's why –"

"That's why we need you," Oliver interjected as he took the final step. "Because you will always be there and ask for nothing in return."

Narrowing her eyes in slight disbelief, Chloe looked over her shoulder prior to replying, "I don't know about nothing." She was pretty sure that her equipment cost Oliver more than everything she owned.

But Oliver just shrugged. "Every hero needs his or her gadgetry."

Chloe shook her head, surprised at the word choice. "Except I'm the sidekick remember?"

Oliver had said that when he didn't know Chloe, only the role she seemed to play in Clark's life. It's why he could say, "I underestimated you back then, a mistake I will never make again." Because Chloe was no sidekick, especially not after everything she had done here. It didn't seem like much, but the simplicity of it all meant more to Oliver than he could express. "And that's why there's no one else I would rather share my birthday with than you."

Her mouth immediately gaped open in disbelief, as a small cough escaped her. Regaining her composure, Chloe said, "That's not necessary Oliver, really. What you just admitted... that's all the thanks I need."

He had expected her to say no, but he wasn't backing down from this. Approaching her carefully, Oliver watched as his eyes met hers once more. "Okay, full disclosure...I figured that considering I bought the equipment... I better see what you had on this database." He frowned slightly as he was about to tell her something that she didn't want to talk about. "You don't leave here much."

As he predicted, her head dipped immediately and found the strength to lie to him. "Ollie...I'm fine."

Reaching forward, Oliver wrapped his fingers around her forearm. He saw her gaze move to his hand, and he knew the contact thing was something she was still getting used to after being alone for so long, but this was the only way Oliver saw that could possibly return the favour she had given him.

"You said it yourself that this was all you had, but that's changed." Rubbing his fingers carefully on her skin, Oliver smirked a little. "Besides, if you want to be seen as someone outside of the computer screen... you have to actually spend some time away from it. So for tonight, no Green Arrow, no Watchtower... just Chloe and Oliver. What do you think?"

Feeling her eyes roll, Chloe asked, "If I refuse, you're just going to pull the birthday card aren't you?"

"Only as a last resort, but come on, you can think of worse ways to spend your time."

She exhaled before peering up. "So what did you have in mind?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out." Oliver saw her eyes narrow, but he figured that her life could use a little surprise. Leaning back, he waited for her inevitable displeased response.

"Shouldn't it be the other way around? As I said before, it's _your _birthday."

While that was true, Oliver held out his hand nonetheless, hoping she would take it. "Then consider your present to me is holding back the fact that you hate surprises for one night... and to let me spoil you without complaint."

To her surprise, Chloe felt her hand itching to move, but it appeared that some walls were still intact. "I'm hardly dressed to go out." There was a large chance these were yesterday's clothes, not to mention the fact that wherever Oliver went... she probably wouldn't fit in.

But Oliver didn't see it that way, reaching his hand further. "Nonsense, you look great."

Looking up, Chloe somehow held back the sigh that was waiting to be unleashed. How on earth was she supposed to say no to that darn smile when she had worked so hard to see it again? Lifting her hand, she hovered it over his, ready to accept it, but once their fingers collided, her phone rang once more. It could have been ringing the entire time, but there was always something clouding her mind, but suddenly, it felt a lot lighter, clearer. "Just let me talk to Lois, okay?"

He immediately nodded, understanding that they never finished their conversation. "Sure." But as she walked away, Oliver peered down at his hand. Nothing had changed, nothing was off, but in that simple exchange, he felt something. Seeing Chloe chatting with Lois, the way she simply rolled her eyes, the way her cautious smile formed on her lips, Oliver couldn't help but wonder how he could be this lucky.

When Chloe hung up, she tucked the phone in her purse and headed back towards where she had been standing before.

"How'd Lois take it?" Oliver asked.

"Actually... Clark showed up at the Talon." Chloe frowned slightly, not entirely sure what that meant. There was something between the two of them, but when it came to his romantic life, Clark always seemed to be fairly clumsy and Lois deserved better than to wait for him to make up his mind.

She was about to change the subject when she felt a chill through her body, leading her to notice the hand Oliver had placed on her shoulder. "The Clark we remember will be back. If nothing else, the night he saved me should prove something."

"Yeah, I guess it's possible." At this point, it was all that Chloe could hope for. "But that's enough about Clark for tonight. Shall we?"

Oliver was more than ready to move forward, so he walked towards the double doors and held one open, waiting for Chloe. Smiling as she exited, she felt the smile remain even as she pressed the button for the elevator. He walked up beside her, waiting patiently for it to arrive. When it did, Chloe entered first, pressing the lobby button before leaning against the back of the elevator.

Tilting her head up, she realized there was one particular thing she hadn't said yet, "Happy Birthday Oliver."

Matching her infectious smile, he was more than willing to say, "Thanks Chloe." It still felt inadequate, even though it was said for a different context, but Oliver knew that she appreciated the sentiment. As the doors began to close, Oliver reached across the elevator for her hand once more, and upon feeling her fingers interlock with his, Oliver knew... everything was going to be alright.

**~End~**


End file.
